Letters, Sept. 3

Opinion

In support of critics

Re: Increasing restrictions could silence culture critics (Aug. 29)

I’ve often wondered why the Free Press didn’t cover some concerts. Now thanks to Jen Zoratti’s excellent column I now understand.

Long live the critic.

Paul Forest

Winnipeg

Failure on health care

It’s a disaster. This one statement sums up what has happened with Manitoba health care since Wab Kinew’s ascent to the premier’s office.

Manitobans are tired of platitudes and questionable comments from Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara. Where are the newly hired front-line workers in the system? What categories of workers are they — doctors, nurses, aides? How many are there in each category? Where are they working? They appear to be invisible on the front lines.

Not only are ER wait times a disaster, so too are the wait times for many surgeries. Wait times are not being publicly reported so we don’t even know what they are. But just ask any person who is on one of these waiting lists and you will get the picture. Some are waiting for years. Meanwhile, their condition worsens while they wait. This makes the surgeries more complicated with longer recovery times. We used to have rehab beds for people who could not be discharged home safely when this happened. Those beds were changed into long-term care beds last year by the Kinew government.

What progress, if any, is being made on the restoration of emergency rooms closed by the previous government? Kinew is good at spending our money on supporting the construction industry but not on actually staffing the system. Putting up more buildings is not the answer to fixing the system. Kinew is good at making excuses and shuffling services around. He is not good at making real change. He is not good at transparency. And why are union leaders the only people in the system who speak up for Manitobans? Where are the leaders within the system?

Most people have no idea who the leaders managing the system are, the ones who have the power to effect change. They are silent, anonymous, invisible. There are a lot of issues, a lot of unanswered questions. The system was a disaster before October 2023 and it is even worse now with no change in sight.

Ariel Lee

Winnipeg

Vigilantism not right, but understandable

Re: Vigilantism and property crime in Winnipeg (Editorial, Aug. 30)

Michael Prince, a criminal with a lengthy record, including 17 theft convictions, has filed a civil suit against several people who allegedly punched, kicked and hit him when he returned to the scene of a crime he had committed only a half-hour earlier — apparently with the intention of committing yet another crime.

The lawsuit demonstrates among other things, an incredible amount of chutzpah on his part. (The classic exemplar of chutzpah is the son who kills his parents and then asks the court for mercy because he is an orphan.)

Prince’s lawsuit alleges that the amount of force used was more than was necessary to detain him pending the arrival of law enforcement personnel. Winnipeggers know that for property crimes in particular, that arrival might occur hours or days later or in some cases, never. How exactly was that detention supposed to take place? The retailer has a business to run with customers to serve, staff to deploy and so on. He may not want to ask two or three employees to detain an apparent criminal who may become belligerent.

Many Winnipeggers who have been the victims of crime suffer from “constant fear, anxiety, apprehensiveness, depression… and ongoing migraines, insomnia and panic attacks.”

Interestingly, these are the same things that Prince alleges that he is experiencing. Perhaps this insight will help him to develop some empathy for his many victims and to express remorse for what he has inflicted upon them and other Winnipeggers who, while not crime victims, are afraid to go downtown because of criminal activity.

Whether he would use some of the $1 million he claims to have stolen previously or the “significant payment” he expects from his lawsuit to ameliorate the damage he has inflicted on others is unlikely.

“Vigilante justice” isn’t justice. And it has little if any deterrent effect. But it is an understandable reaction by otherwise law-abiding citizens to the failure of government to perform arguably its most fundamental role — ensuring the health and safety of its citizens and the security of their property.

The more we continue to take a laissez-faire approach to crime, the more we should expect to see this kind of response by victims, bystanders and others.

Robert Pruden

Winnipeg

How wars begin

This is how it starts. First there were two very amicable neighbours. For the 70 years that I’ve been alive, Canada and the U.S. shared more than a border. Goods and services flowed both ways, travel happened in both directions, and families even spread into both countries.

Our cultures were slightly different, with some clear contrasts, but we shared many similarities as well.

Then along comes one man, supported by groups of very committed citizens with a plan to shake up the status quo, and suddenly hate speech begins. “Canadians are taking advantage of us and have been for years.” “They are nasty and mean.”

People, and specifically young people hear this. They believe it. We don’t like the Canadians. They are trouble. Fear and hatred spread.

After a while there is lots of animosity toward Canadians by those living south of the border, and in time it begins to go both ways.

Some even say their Canadian government is restrictive and power hungry. The Canadian population needs to be freed from this.

Pretty soon a whole nation can justify trade sanctions, hate speech and possible annexation.

This is how wars begin.

I hope, for the sake of my children and grandchildren, that this ridiculous and vile movement is stopped. Soon.

It sickens me to think of what might be coming between two formerly friendly neighbour countries.

All because of one man whose massive ego is fed by some wealthy and power hungry supporters.

Cindy Burkett

Winnipeg

No reason to store U.S. alcohol

Re: Banned booze from U.S. hasn’t spoiled in storage, MLL says (Aug. 25)

I do not understand why we are storing American booze. We’ve already paid for it.

We’re sitting on $3 million worth at cost here in Manitoba and at MLL’s profit margins we could likely sell it for $6 million. We are not hurting the U.S. by storing it. We are just hurting ourselves.

What is hurting the U.S. is not ordering any more of their product. In Quebec, they are considering tossing some products out.

It seems some products have expiry dates that are near. Why not put a sale on these goods and at least make some money?

The answer, it would seem to me, would be to get the product back on the shelves and do not order any more American product until we settle the tariff situation

Rick Sparling

Winnipeg